I've spent 4 years in Istanbul, it was one of my best experience. I met amazing people, but also a loooooot (looooot) of scams even from people I considered friends. So be careful of whom you trust there, but instead of that it is a magical city, always something to do, very beautiful, and affordable, and as a women I felt very safe there (learnt turkish but even before that I felt safe)

Istanbul

I've spent 4 years in Istanbul, it was one of my best experience.I met amazing people, but also a loooooot (looooot) of scams even from people I considered friends.So be careful of whom you trust there, but instead of that it is a magical city, always something to do, very beautiful, and affordable, and as a women I felt very safe there (learnt turkish but even before that I felt safe)

As always take precautions when traveling. Turkish people are generally friendly and the cost of living can be very affordable for foreigners. That being said, the taxis are around Taksim and Old town can be a bit dodgy, especially if you don't speak Turkish or get in an "illegal" cab. To avoid this, download an app that calculates the fare for you (prices are fixed and determined by the city)and show this to the driver before entering the taxi. Like in most major tourist destinations, there will be opportunists who will try to profit from your ignorance. Use your common sense.That being said, the food and history of the city is wonderful and there is plenty of places to explore and events to attend.

It's a really good city for digital nomads! Theare are many things to do (the city is huge!) prices are cheap and people is nice and friendly.

A great place to be. Excellent price/quality ratio. You can easily find everything needed to work: coworking, sim (you can eg use Airalo). There is a plenty of things to do in the city and around it. Food is dirt cheap and delicious.It can be trashy and sometimes touristy but that didn't cause problems for me.

I came here the autumn 2021. Before i had lived in another Turkish city which was amazing! But I had to live that place and came here.What can I say? My first real estate agent scammed me for 1500TL. And I couldn't rent any apartment for 6 months because I am a single woman and also my national is being considered as not the one with decent women. So finally after 2 weeks of searching and meetings with many completely rude and unprofessionally real estate agents I did find the apartment.What am I thinking about now? Yes, how to leave this city. The city centre is not clean, it's almost impossible to have a taxi, the electricity cuts off very frequently and i Never know when my remote work will be stopped. The city itself is overcrowded and despite living in the city center I am afraid to walk nearby at night.

Spent 4 months in Istanbul. Lovely city. Lots of things to do, cafes to work from, historical sites and nice parks. Might be chaotic at times but its part of its charm.Pros:Everything is really cheap from food, groceries, clothes, etc. The only unusually pricey thing is alcohol. Rent prices are skyrocketing tooI found Turkish people to be really nice. Some of them went out the extra mile to help me out with mundane things. The tea culture and community feeling of every street is awesome too!Public transport is great. Make sure to live in a place close to a Metro/Marmaray/Metrobus station. I'd recommend staying in the European side, specially close to the Yenikapi station (M2) Cons:English is not widely spoken and it can be an issue if you don't speak turkish. You can have a hard time if you decide to live in 'authentic' turkish neighborhoods because finding people speaking English is hard. To avoid this simply stay in the european side, Taksim is where most foreigners hang out and people speak decent EnglishWatch out for scammers. They are everywhere in Taksim/Istiklal Street. 1 in 10 taxi drivers will try to swindle you. Not even Uber can protect you on this.

We love Istanbul! To the person who said there's no pros in Istanbul, I'm not sure if this person was really in Istanbul or always just sees the negative. The people are so nice! Despite it being a touristy place, vendors are not aggressive. Locals are chill. Some shops would even round down our bill if they have no exact change. There was working WiFi in coffee shops but it was faster in our Airbnb of course and that's where we work. For transport, google is never reliable (sometimes yes). A local recommended us the app Moovit and it was accurate. Get an Istanbul card for the metro. They have really efficient public transport, comfortable and cheap! People are so nice they assisted us in buying the card when the vendor can't speak English. Locals are so helpful, you just have to look for the nice ones. And maybe be nice so people are also nice to you :)Aside from the historical spots, it's a great place for food! They have a great coffee and tea culture too.

I have almost no pro to this city, been there for 15 days, and tried really hard to see the good side, but I didn't.People were rude 100% of the time, very hard to find someone who can speak english, uber just works with cash and price is not accurate, don't trust google maps for public transportation (it doesn't gives you all the routes and some bus routes were wrong), Internet was REALLY bad everywhere, you can't access wifi in public areas without a local sim card, SIM Card for tourists are way more expensive ...If I can yet advise you, Stay in Moda, Kadikoy. It's not that crowd, more chill, and people are nicer (not that nice but comparing with the european side...)

I spent one year in Istanbul and it's absolutely amazing. The city is really safe, I went back home really late during the night, walking, without any problem. Parties are really fun and there are all kinds of spots to have fun (bars, nightclubs, restaurants...). The city has a lot of cafés to work at and most of them have free and reliable wifi. Definitely recommend!

As any other city, there are its pros and cons. Of course, it is not a village where everyone will be nice and smile at you if you expect this. Large cities are usually cold and people are quite disconnected. However, the beauty of the culture compliments everything. I suggest having a right intention when coming to Istanbul. If you're looking to make new friends, this is probably not your place to pick (as people are pretty cold), but if you want to enjoy your life, live in your own pace - go to islands to swim, see historical places, walk on your feet a lot, go to cool restaurants and very vivid coffee shops (the variety, is wow!!). As you enter your routine, people will follow and you will connect with some as well that it is not going to be lonely.

Beautiful, affordable, and historic. Downsides are that Turkish people can be often very casually racist and culturally insensitive, especially if you are an ethnic minority and/or a woman. I've also been followed on multiple occasions by random men on the streets. But don't let this take away from your experience of the place as I've experienced some of the best hospitality, food, and sights this world has to offer. There are plenty of cafes and public spaces with reliable wifi where you can get work done.

Spent six months in Istanbul in 1993 when Turkey was really exotic. Didn't return till 2007, when I made mostly Kurdish friends in Sultanahmet, whom I'd see on frequent visits thereafter. Otherwise, I'd skip the city as like throughout Turkey bar the Kurdish areas there's anti Western feeling and targeting of visitors (I noticed that after a meal with alcohol, I'd nearly always be approached by a single male in the street near the restaurant inviting me to a bar certain. I'd suggest going to the first busy café instead, at which point they'd excuse themselves. I suspect some waiters were part of a scam targeting single males).

It's most historical city with most rude people!!you always be careful to not to be stupid

İstanbul is the most historical city in the world.

Generally favorable on Antalya, but not perfect. The weather was excellent (~26 C almost every day) and the nature of the city is absolutely stunning. The mountains on the west side of the city seem to just explode out of the ocean and it's special to see. That said, the built environment is pretty uninspiring. The center of the city is full of interesting restaurants and shops, but outside of the old town it's not very exciting to look at. My primary complaint, however, is on public transit. It's easy to use the tram to get to/from the airport and bus station, but outside of those destinations you better be ready to walk (or use a cab, which I try to never do). Wifi was solid but I did have some drops here and there, my apartment was decent, and the city felt pretty safe. It's also incredibly cheap. I tend to be very frugal, so take this with a grain of salt, but you can easily get a quality meal for about $4 US and would have no problem getting an awesome meal for $8 US. Overall, I enjoyed it, but I wouldn't have wanted to stay much longer than the two weeks I was there.

Antalya

i wanted to reply to one of the review that gave 3/5 to Antalya. I think Antalya deserves much better! It's a huge city of 2million inhabitants and it still feel super great because of the nature, the parks, the mountains, the sea, the culture, etc. It's true that locals don't really speak English but they are super nice and try to communicate with you the way they can. For taxi, there is literally taxi buttons every few meters in all the streets: you click on the button, and a taxi is coming withing a minute. For internet, you should buy the simcard in the city center, it's gonna be cheaper than at the airport. Btw Wikipedia is not blocked in 2020. You have many food and cafe options, after traveling the world Antalya is one of the best places I've been. One thing though: it needs a bigger digital nomad community and better coworking spaces.

Antalya is not that bad, but here are the problems:1) Not much in terms of co-working options. Feels like there are just a few options there. I found one coworking space, but honestly doesn't feel like a nomad place2) Too few people speak English. It's really a struggle to communicate.3) Feels too slow sometimes4) No ridesharing apps. Literally. The only option is to book traditional taxis.5) Internet is slow, including Airbnb's6) Mobile internet plans are expensive. Not worth it.7) VPN is a must. Wikipedia is blocked, for example.On a flip side:1) Airbnb's are cheap2) Many options to go in the mountains, etc. Beautiful place.3) Has a potential to growOverall 3/5 I would say. Not bad, but there are better places for nomads.

Antalya is becoming more and more popular for digital nomads because of great city life, amazing nature (sea + mountains), a great beach park right in the center, a walkable and bicycle-friendly center, multiple international connections from its international airport (that also has a tramway to the center of the city for around $0,50), cheap prices for a high quality of life. And Turkey is of course famous for being very hospitable and offering tasty food!We need some options for coworking spaces but I'm sure there will be many soon. Antalya is my favorite city in Turkey so far :)

one of the most popular spots for european and russian tourists during summer (june-july-august). especially its counties are known for beaches, resorts and other natural beauties. temperature can be over 40 degrees.

Adana

It's a beautiful small city with nice parks.   The population is somewhat used to foreigners since there are many humanitarian agencies with offices in the city. Nevertheless, basically no one speaks English.  There is a large mall with several options to eat and work.  I've spent days in local cafes without issue although cafe owners were clearly surprised by this behaviour.   Regarding activities, they are constrained to the touristic, such as museums, and hamams (saunas). I've heard that there are pubs and places to dance but I've not seen them.   The female population mostly behaves as small town people. Caring about appearances and stuff like that.   Be extremely careful with traffic! No rules are respected.   Finally, this nation has an honor culture, like all of the region. Do no criticize anyone for anything!

Gaziantep

It's a beautiful small city with nice parks. The population is somewhat used to foreigners since there are many humanitarian agencies with offices in the city. Nevertheless, basically no one speaks English. There is a large mall with several options to eat and work. I've spent days in local cafes without issue although cafe owners were clearly surprised by this behaviour. Regarding activities, they are constrained to the touristic, such as museums, and hamams (saunas).I've heard that there are pubs and places to dance but I've not seen them. The female population mostly behaves as small town people. Caring about appearances and stuff like that. Be extremely careful with traffic! No rules are respected. Finally, this nation has an honor culture, like all of the region. Do no criticize anyone for anything!

İt is capital city of turkey and very safe enjoyable environment , relax and warm place :)

Ankara

Pros - Friendly locals, easy to make friends. Go to a bar and chat with whoever. You'll become friends quickly. - Coffee and tea shops everywhere with good prices - Internet is pretty fast in my experience - I never got foreigner pricing, unlike other reviewers - Good prices if you're bringing in outside currency - Younger people speak English, older people don't, but you should be attempting Turkish anyway :) - Never felt any kind of racism(Korean)  Cons - Smoking everywhere. It's impossible to sit in a cafe and not smell cigarette the whole time - Extremely hilly in some areas. Great if you want to perform leg day everyday - I was disappointed by the quality of food in general. Find a local to show you the best restaurants. Gözleme and kelle paça were my favorites. - Super hot in September. I hated to stay indoors all day, but that's what I did for many days. - Taxi drivers all have a dreamcast installed in their car and they're all playing crazy taxi - Ages seem to skew higher. Hard to come across people my age or younger.

Izmir

Pros- Friendly locals, easy to make friends. Go to a bar and chat with whoever. You'll become friends quickly.- Coffee and tea shops everywhere with good prices- Internet is pretty fast in my experience- I never got foreigner pricing, unlike other reviewers- Good prices if you're bringing in outside currency- Younger people speak English, older people don't, but you should be attempting Turkish anyway :)- Never felt any kind of racism(Korean)Cons- Smoking everywhere. It's impossible to sit in a cafe and not smell cigarette the whole time- Extremely hilly in some areas. Great if you want to perform leg day everyday- I was disappointed by the quality of food in general. Find a local to show you the best restaurants. Gözleme and kelle paça were my favorites.- Super hot in September. I hated to stay indoors all day, but that's what I did for many days.- Taxi drivers all have a dreamcast installed in their car and they're all playing crazy taxi- Ages seem to skew higher. Hard to come across people my age or younger.

Stayed here for 2 months, it was terrible—internet was slow, people were racist, blatant price gouging of foreigners, and my boyfriend was accosted in the street one night when a random group of brawling men were kicked out of a bar and they came out punching and kicking at anyone who had the misfortune of being in their way. We stayed in 2 different AirbnBs in the most central part of Izmir and both of them had spotty internet. In one of them, the water cut out several times despite being billed as a “luxury” accommodation. Price gouging foreigners is not an uncommon phenomenon in any destination, but when you walk into a corner store and are told that a bottle of water costs 10 Euros, that really takes the piss and leaves an incredibly bad taste in your mouth. Didn’t feel safe as a woman either—a female friend of mine visited for a week and we went to grab some dessert one night, only to be harassed by two men at the table next to us who seemed to think that because we politely responded to their question of where we were from, it was an invitation to try to follow us home and get angry and rude when we asked them to stop. The list of negative experiences goes on and on. To be honest I wanted to leave by the end of the second week but I stuck it out, telling myself to stay open minded. Unfortunately, the longer we stayed, the worse it got. We were very relieved to leave. We did make one very kind local friend here who kept us sane and even they said they wouldn’t live here if they had the choice. There are much cheaper and more pleasant places to stay! The person who left a comment about two beds going for $120 is quite mistaken. Even looking on long term rental sites you would be paying around $600, and if you are foreign the landlords will do things like demand the whole year’s rent up front.

Totally false about the numbers being off, who ever left that comment. There are nice apartments, even two-beds going for about 1,800 lira (120 dollars) if sign a long-term contract so i'm sure $87 is possible

The numbers are completely false here. 1br studio rent in center for $87? That's impossible. You gotta pay at least $300 for a crappy studio. The new and the modern ones is probably around $500-600.

I loved, loved, loved Izmir! It's an excellent place for student exchange programs. Five months was enough for me, though. People are friendly, helpful, and always highly optimistic. PROS:People -> amazing!,Food (a great place for vegans),Nature,Prices,CONS:Pavements (or lack of pavements),Smoking (people smoke everywhere),Bureaucracy (If you don't speak Turkish, forget about running errands in local municipalities),Language barrier (Not many people speak English well),Politics (If you are open-minded and support freedom of speech, and freedom in general, it's not a good place for you. You could suffer from stomach ulcers).It's an excellent place to see, a fantastic place to meet many friends, but not the best place for the long run.

Cheaper version of Athens. Most liberal city in Turkey. Definitely underrated and amazingly cheap. The city has a great beach, restaurant and bar scene.

In all of Turkey, Izmir is by far the most educated and cosmopolitan city. I have lived in Turkey for 12 years and have been visiting for 30 years. Changes in the geo-political climate have shown restrictions to freedoms that a lot of westerners will find uninviting. Izmir is a city that is that I have found that has a positive attitude amongst the people towards most foreigners.

İzmir is probably the best digital nomad destination in Europe. In terms of: cost of living, access to Internet, places to work from, activities in the city, public transport, safety, city/beach/nature balance. Those who found it boring are probably looking for places where youngsters get drunk in pool parties or such. If you are looking for kind and educated population, ease of access to all amenities, Izmir is definitely a great choice. Yes, it is not a tropical destination, so it gets cold in winter for about two months.

Turkey was a fascinating and exotic place in the eighties and nineties but even then I took a dislike to Izmir after getting robbed and threatened there. In more recent times, the considerable slice of the population has become more and more hostile to Westerners although it's usually disguised. I stopped going in 2015.

Racism is absolutely present in Izmir and Turkey. You only have to take a look here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism_in_Turkey to find systemic racism "towards non-Turkish ethnic minorities such as Armenians, Assyrians, Greeks, Kurds, Jews, Yazidis and Zazas as well as hostility towards minority forms of Islam such as Alevis, Sufis, and Shiites."

I don't think nomad list is somewhere to lean all your trust in because I have loads of friends from Izmir and they have never complained or talked about it being racially intolerant.

Izmir is probably the friendliest city I have seen in my life. Seeing bad ratings for racial tolerance here just made me lose trust in nomadlist. Pity, idea is good but data is completely twisted and has nothing to do with reality.

I love Izmir. I taught English in Izmir. There are many things to do and I love the people and the great little restaurants everywhere. Buses provide perfect transportation from Izmir to any destination in Turkey. I wish I were there right now! Walk along the Kordon, explore Alsancak, Karsiyaka and Kemeralta. Take a bus to Kusadasi or Cesme on the weekends. Wonderful! Try the Manisa Kebap. I was a solo female.

Izmir what a horrible boring place. We were there 2 months and we hated it. It is dry and hot and nobody speaks English. We have been all over the world but Izmir was the worst.

An interesting place which has a decent Russian-speaking community from post-Soviet republics.  Pros:  - quite affordable - proximity to the sea/beach (plenty of condos 2-4 mins walking distance) - Fiber Internet (50mbps is easy to get) Cons: - limited food options (Turkish cuisine) - really slow at times (might be a pro for some) - no coworking spaces

Alanya

An interesting place which has a decent Russian-speaking community from post-Soviet republics. Pros: - quite affordable- proximity to the sea/beach (plenty of condos 2-4 mins walking distance)- Fiber Internet (50mbps is easy to get)Cons:- limited food options (Turkish cuisine)- really slow at times (might be a pro for some)- no coworking spaces

Konya

Bodrum is an overpriced (central) but quite beautiful (surrounding villages/quays) place, mainly made up of the retirement residences of educated rather educated, secular population. There are amazing quays in driving distance that wouldn't be any different than beautiful coasts of Bali or Thailand.

Best Cities To Remote Work In Turkey

Istanbul

Antalya

Adana

Gaziantep

Ankara

Izmir

Alanya

Konya

Bodrum

Bursa

What Makes These Cities in Turkey the Best for Remote Work?

How To Choose The Best City in Turkey For Your Remote Work Needs ?